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Veterinary euthanasia drug used by people

People who are suicidal buy pentobarbital in Mexican pet stores.

Aug 15, 2008

By dvm360.com staff

VETERINARY ECONOMICS

Mexican pet stores are selling a drug used to euthanize dogs and cats by American veterinarians to elderly and terminally ill people from around the world to commit suicide, according to Reuters and The New York Times. A bottle of pentobarbital that sells for $30 to $50 is sufficient to cause death in humans.

Euthanasia advocates on the Internet and in books such as The Peaceful Pill Handbook teach those seeking a painless method of suicide what to look for and how to find it in Tijuana and other Mexican border towns. According to Reuters, a British euthanasia advocate said many of the British clients he flies to Mexico to purchase the drug are still healthy enough to make the trip and buy it as a way to guarantee a death of their own choosing.

DVM Newsmagazine published an article in its May 2008 issue on the high suicide rate among veterinarians. Deliberate drug ingestion is the No. 1 cause of suicide among veterinarians.